Just Keep Moving (a Beastars Fanfic)

Ch5. Boys' Day Out

    I stood in the middle of my dorm as my roommates hurried around me in various states of undress. Knowing that this would be the last day of summer before school started, Alex had planned for everyone from room 702 to spend a day out in the city. I had woken up much earlier than the others, so I was stuck watching everyone else get ready to go out. 

    "First stop is Aunt Riandra's for breakfast right?" Ron asked. 

    "Yup," said Alex, who by then was ready to go. "I'll be paying." It took a few minutes for us to leave and about fifteen minutes more for us to walk to the diner Alex had planned to go to. 

    At the diner, Marbu ordered some mashed potatoes, Alex ordered scrambled eggs and veggie sausage, I ordered pancakes with extra syrup, and Ron tried a pickup line on the waitress before being shut down and ordering a cheeseburger with a vegetable patty. As we ate, we decided to review the plans for the day. We would spend the morning wandering around the city, visiting a few stores here and there. After that, Alex planned on visiting a local pizzeria for lunch, then spending a few hours at an arcade called B-Strike. Alex apparently had a surprise planned for dinner, after which we would go back to our dorm. It would be my first time going to B-Strike, and my friends were quite surprised when I told them that. 

    "What the fuck do you mean you've never been to B-Strike?" Ron exclaimed, attracting several dirty looks from other customers. 
    "While it is surprising that Tim has never gone to B-Strike," Marbu said, "I hardly think it's proper cause for shouting." 

    "Don't worry, we'll fix that soon enough," Alex said. "For now though, let's finish our food and get out of here. Even the kids are looking at us weird." 

    The morning went by in a blur, and before I knew it, we were standing at the entrance to a building with "B-Strike" in giant neon letters down one side. When we entered the building, I was able to see what looked like an indoor amusement park mixed with an arcade. There were several different activities for various species, all designed to fulfill each animal's instincts. None of them were particularly attractive to me, however, so I ended up visiting other, less specialized, attractions. 

    To my surprise, there were more video games similar to the ones from my world. They even had the classics like Tetris and Space Invaders. After playing the arcade games for a bit, I continued to look for activities that interested me. To my surprise, there was a shooting range for both bows and guns. After trying it out, I found that I sucked at both, but the instructors were quite helpful in guiding me through their use. I got better the more I used the weapons, but I'd only gotten halfway decent with them before it was time to leave. 

    Ron, Marbu, and I gathered at the exit, where we followed Alex to the spot where he said he had prepared a surprise for dinner. As we walked behind him, a pit of dread slowly formed in my stomach as the streets we were walking through became more and more familiar. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw Alex led us into the alley which connected to the meat market. 

    By then, the sun had already set for the most part, and the lights around the alley had lit up, casting the entire market into hues of red and orange. 

    "Alex, when you said you had a surprise," Marbu said, "I really wasn't expecting this." 

    "Dang dude, this is sick!" Ron exclaimed. "I've never eaten meat before!" 

    "I know right?" Alex said. "Hey Tim, you feeling alright? You're being pretty silent." 

    "That might be because we aren't supposed to be here," I said. "I've heard it's pretty dangerous in this area." 

    "Relax," Alex said. "It's our boys' day out." 

    "Yeah," I argued. "It's boys' day out, not felons' day out. I'm pretty sure most of the stuff in here is illegal, and that could really ruin your future if you get caught here. At least cover your face so that you don't get recognized. Other than that, my species is rare, so I'll get recognized easily even if I cover my face. I'm sorry, but I'll have to leave you guys to go alone."